Final approval for Lustrum Beck Flood Defence scheme

Friday, Jun 13 2014A major flood defence scheme at Lustrum Beck has been given the go-ahead.

Today (13 June) the Environment Agency has granted final approval to £1.2 million of Flood Defence Grant in Aid Funding for the scheme.

It means detailed plans for the works can now be finalised.

Stockton Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment, Councillor David Rose, said: “We know how devastating flood damage is and want to do our utmost to ensure there is not a repeat of the Autumn 2012 floods in the Lustrum Beck area.

“We have worked tirelessly with the Environment Agency in recent years to find a way of securing funding to allow us to build the much needed flood defences so I’m delighted that this scheme is now set to progress.”

In February the Government confirmed that the Flood Defence Grant in Aid Funding had been allocated for a flood defence scheme at Lustrum Beck, after £415,000 was previously secured from the North-East local levy.

Stockton Council worked with the Environment Agency to secure the total £1.6million.

Stockton Council and the Environment Agency are preparing to start a series of works this summer (2014) which are designed to protect properties along the Lustrum Beck corridor which were worst affected during the Autumn 2012 floods.

A public 'drop in' meeting will take place on 2 July between 2:30pm and 6:30pm at the Grey’s Road Institute, Grey’s Road, Stockton so residents can find out more about the works and flood risk experts will be on hand to discuss the plans.

Samantha Boyes, project manager who has been leading on the scheme at the Environment Agency, said: “The Environment Agency has been working closely with the council over the past year to put together this scheme and we are pleased to have a found a solution which can deliver a good level of protection to the residents of Lustrum Beck. We are also grateful to Stockton Council for its contribution of leading on the bridge works element of the scheme.

“The flood risk in this area is really complex, but improvements in river modelling have given us a much better understanding of flood risk in the catchment which has helped us devise a solution that is affordable and offers a higher level of protection than previously proposed schemes.”

Works will include:

• Raising the banks at Browns Bridge

• Improving the flow of the beck downstream to prevent 'blockages'

• Improvements at Durham Road bridge to allow water to pass more rapidly and easily

• The creation of a new green space to help retain surface water in the Browns Bridge area.

Lustrum Beck is affected by additional water entering the watercourse as far away as the A66 near Darlington and Durham Tees Valley Airport so a second phase of works is planned which will also involve flood alleviation upstream.

Stockton Council has also invested £100,000 in emergency flood barriers and powerful pumps to provide more on-the-ground flood support across the Borough.